St. Margaret Mary did not shrink from the task at hand; let her be our model

Today is the Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the traditional calendar. Today is the 330th anniversary of her death.

Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary, and requested three primary things from her:

1. To promote the reality of His physical, human, Sacred Heart
2. To establish the First Friday devotion
3. To establish the Feast of the Sacred Heart

Who was St. Margaret Mary? She was a cloistered nun in far rural France in the 17th Century. How do you think she reacted when tasked with her mission? Do you suppose she through up her arms, thinking it surely impossible that someone like her could be in a position to accomplish these things? How on earth was she supposed to create and spread a worldwide devotion from her tiny cell at the cloister in the 1680s? Can you imagine her saying, “But Lord, it’s too much. But, how? Why me? Boohoohoo.”

Except that’s not how people with faith, hope, and love react to seemingly unsolvable situations. This is especially true if one knows that the desired outcome, nay, the INEVITABLE outcome, is directly willed by God Almighty, who can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, and use anyone He pleases to accomplish the task.

Act, and God will act.

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From a letter of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin:

« We must know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge »

It seems to me that our Lord’s earnest desire to have his Sacred Heart honored in a special way is directed toward renewing the effects of redemption in our souls. For the sacred heart is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to his good pleasure.

From this divine heart three streams flow endlessly. The first is the stream of mercy for sinners; it pours into their hearts sentiments of contrition and repentance. The second is the stream of charity which helps all in need and especially aids those seeking perfection to find the means of surmounting their difficulties. From the third stream flow love and light for the benefit of his friends who have attained perfection; these he wishes to unite to himself so that they may share his knowledge and commandments and, in their individual ways, devote themselves wholly to advancing his glory.

This divine heart is an abyss of all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.

Therefore, you must unite yourselves to the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, both at the beginning of your conversion in order to obtain proper dispositions, and at its end in order to make reparation. Are you making no progress in prayer? Then you need only offer God the prayers which the Savior has poured out for us in the sacrament of the altar. Offer God his fervent love in reparation for your sluggishness. In the course of every activity pray as follows: “My God, I do this or I endure that in the heart of your Son and according to his holy counsels. I offer it to you in reparation for anything blameworthy or imperfect in my actions.” Continue to do this in every circumstance of life. And every time that some punishment, affliction or injustice comes your way, say to yourself: “Accept this as sent to you by the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in order to unite yourself to him.”

But above all preserve peace of heart. This is more valuable than any treasure. In order to preserve it there is nothing more useful than renouncing your own will and substituting for it the will of the divine heart. In this way his will can carry out for us whatever contributes to his glory, and we will be happy to be his subjects and to trust entirely in him.